A new multi-million pound centre in Coventry is set to assist regional enterprises that specialise in services and technologies to help those with long-term illnesses and disabilities.
Coventry University has received the go-ahead for the £4.5 million Health Design and Technology Institute (HDTI), due to open in 2008.
The running of the institute will also be funded by a £3.6 million grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, to be followed by a further £10 million over the next ten years.
Construction work on the building, which will be funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, is due to begin on the site in the next four months.
The institute's aim is to help SMEs design products and services to improve community healthcare and manage health at home, aided by the latest diagnostic tools, monitoring devices and technology.
It has also launched nine courses aimed at equipping students, SMEs, community-based health and social care professionals, carers and consumers with the skills to design better products and services for the healthcare sector.
The institute – which will be managed by the university's commercial arm, Coventry University Enterprises – has also teamed up with a number of big names in the healthcare industry, including Procter & Gamble, GE Healthcare, Age Concern Enterprises, Lloyds Pharmacy, Medilink West Midlands and MidTECH NHS Innovations.
HDTI director Simon Fielden said the Institute was special to the West Midlands and would support the Department of Health’s objective to transfer care from hospital to the home.
He said: "Our focus is on developing assistive technologies for the patient, rather than medical devices for surgical intervention or use in hospital settings, which sets us apart from existing initiatives in the region.
"Our areas of activity will include building and vehicle adaptations, walking aids and wheelchairs, consumer health products, and eHealth developments such as remote monitoring.
"This approach is very much aligned to the University’s traditional strengths in nursing, the allied health professions and product design."
The new three-story building will include pre-incubator space for SMEs, a demonstration area where companies and users can trial their products and services and offices for applied research.
Mr Fielden said that, although there were a number of good companies operating in this sector of healthcare in the West Midlands, the region had not fully exploited its potential.
He said: "We certainly have experts in the service provision side of things – such as the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre in Selly Oak – but we perhaps have not got the business base that we could have."
The European medical device sector is worth £55.2 billion but the UK has so far failed to capitalise on the economic potential.
Mr Fielden added: "The HDTI represents a tremendous opportunity for partnership with business enterprises, health and social services and, most importantly, patients. It is an opportunity for those already in the industry to expand their product base and for other enterprises to diversify into it.
"This will create jobs in the region and provide improved products and services to the end user. "We hope to make life better for people coping with long-term conditions in their own home and increase the independence of disabled and older people."